Hållning av unga svenska islandshästar och dess påverkan på beteende hos tvååringar

Abstract: Icelandic horses are becomming increasingly common in Sweden. The owners of Icelandic horses in Sweden usually believe their horses to be different from other breeds. Icelandic horses are predominantly considered to be less reactive, less neophobic and easier to handle than other breeds. Swedish owners of Icelandic horses also usually try to house and handle their horses in a way similar to the traditional extensive Icelandic way. There are no scientific studies of breed differences between Icelandic horses and other breeds, or of the housing of Swedish Icelandic horses. The goal of this study was to investigate how young 22 Swedish Icelandic horses are housed and to study their behaviour in an unfamiliar situation. All the young horses in the study were housed outdoors in herds all year round. The herds contained between 3 and 20 horses. Almost all of the owners vaccinated their horses against tetanus and most of them also against equine influenza. The young horses were only handled regularly on one farm. All other husbandry routines varied between owners. This study did not show any significant differences in the behaviour of the horses depending on their sex. There seemed to be a sex difference initially, but it was caused by four individuals from the same herd. There were however differences in behaviour depending on the size of the herd, the wind and the distance between the fields the horses were kept in and human interferences, like roads.